I Declare Myself the World's Worst Brother
*sneezes at amount of dust* Greetings my ducks and welcome back!
For those of you joining me today, I just gotta say: Wow.
This was a long time coming. Five years? Dang!
I hope everyone who's been here since the beginning is alive and well. These are chaotic times and I thought that maybe an old favorite of ours might bring some cheer.
With today's installment, I intend to indulge myself to the absolute fullest and deliver some brotherly fluff :3
**THIS FIC HAS ZERO ROMANCE/PAIRINGS, I'M ARO AF AND TERRIBLE AT WRITING IT**
I'm NOT pairing Percy with ANYONE. If I was, I'd have let you know beforehand.
I do believe a disclaimer is in order: DearlyFictitious does not own the Percy Jackson series or anything related to it. This was written purely for entertainment and no money was made off this. It belongs to Uncle Rick Riordan!
Previously on Bonding Chapter 16 - Fish Out of Water Pt3
Chiron chuckled and kneeled down into the water, "Alright, try not to prick me with your spines, they look pretty sharp."
"And venomous…" he muttered.
"Pardon?"
Percy looked away, fingering the sharp fins on one of his forearms.
"Yeah, during the fight with the harpies, I got in a swing at one of them with my tailfins and the other got scraped with the ones on my arms when I punched it; they just fell to the ground twitching."
"You're a venomous merman?" he said in awe, "That's unheard of! Usually only a select few mermaids are venomous."
•••
Grover bleated a laugh, "It wasn't that bad; though it was funny when you kept slapping Jason with your fins."
Percy turned to Jason, "I didn't scratch you did I?
"Nope, just kept getting hit with the broad part. Why do you ask?"
"I'm venomous." he admitted, "And I don't know how dangerous my venom is just yet. So consider yourself lucky."
•••
It wasn't often Triton found himself in a compromising position, with him being Crown Prince, he had to make sure he was stately and proper at all times. Even when he was covered head to toe in grime from battle, he made sure to keep his head raised high and uphold his dignity. The Royal family of the seas wouldn't stand for anything less.
However, as with anything in life, certain exceptions would be made. Especially when it concerned a certain half-brother of his.
So excuse him for pouting and blowing raspberries at said brother.
"Triton, how many times do I gotta say sorry?"
"Until I'm satisfied."
"But it was an accident!"
"I don't care."
"C'mon, it can't be that bad."
"Try telling that to my backside!"
Both princes were currently in the Royal Infirmary due to an unfortunate accident involving Perseus' venomous spines from his Regal merman form.
After his initial merform discovery, Percy tested out many aspects of both forms and when one of his spines snapped off (ow), he wanted to test out and see if it made a good projectile. So he grabbed the nearest dartboard and tried to hit a bullseye. He accidentally put too much force behind his throw and his makeshift dart flew out his window, through the gardens, past the courtrooms, and into the basking grounds...the Royal basking grounds.
...Let's just say that Triton's posterior was unfortunate enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
His screech could be heard all throughout the palace and it rattled the metaphorical timbers of every establishment within a three mile vicinity. He had the entire Royal Guard on high alert and thinking that the Crown Prince had been ambushed!
Well, technically, he was ambushed. Details aside...
Resolving that misunderstanding had been a nightmare and Percy was so embarrassed by the end of it. It didn't help that Poseidon laughed until he was red in the face at the whole ordeal; Amphitrite tried to shush him but she too was trying in vain to hold back laughter.
Triton had thrashed about and was making a terrible mess of the basking grounds, his larger Fancy merform made it harder to detain him and it took no less than twelve members of the guard to finally pin him down and Lou, his attendant, had to knock him out to place him on his speckled back and transport him safely to the infirmary.
All things considered, he got away with it lightly. Attacking a member of the Royal Family was a serious crime and usually resulted in harsh punishments or worse, but Poseidon was more amused than anything so Percy had received no punishment as of yet.
Triton was understandably upset.
Both of them were sentenced for striking the Sea King, but he got off scott free for nearly fatally wounding the Crown Prince? Where was the equality in that? Pondered Percy.
He glanced at Triton's wound and winced, the puncture site was firmly wrapped up in layers of medicinal sea kelp. Since no antivenom existed for Percy's venom, Triton had to make due with the strongest dosage of anemone salve the healers had convinced him to use and bear with the agonizing side effects.
Since he was their first documented case, the medical staff tried to make the best out of the situation and studied Triton's symptoms carefully and critically. Triton being who he is, was coincidentally one of the best possible subjects to study under such conditions; his immortal nature and resistance to most maladies made him the perfect first victim. The staff poked and prodded him, respectfully, and jotted down any changes to his condition.
And much to their surprise, Triton allowed them to get in his personal space and study the absolute hades out of him. He reasoned that the more research they had, the faster they'd get to procuring an antidote or antivenom; and due to his wounded pride (pun not intended) he forewent administering traditional salves and painkillers as long as he was able to, so he could provide them the best data possible.
It was all for research and the good of their denizens, Triton's delirious, pain ridden mind tried to convince himself.
His symptoms as a result were as followed:
Pain.
Convulsions.
Swelling.
Suffering.
Nausea.
Headache.
Discomfort.
Dizziness.
Fever.
Soft tissue damage.
Torture.
Moderate paralysis.
Nerve damage.
And did he mention he was in utter agony?
As of now, he was stable enough to finally have some time to himself. The head matron had given him a notebook to jot down any other feelings or symptoms while they were away, and Percy took it as an opportunity to try and apologize.
He glanced at the skin peeking underneath the dressings and froze, in between the gaps of the kelp, the skin surrounding the wound was absolutely covered in painful looking black and blue bruises. He gingerly grabbed the thin blanket and pulled it down further to see the full extent of the damage and paled.
"Triton."
"What?" he snapped back.
"Your scales, they're..."
"They're what? Spit it out."
Percy mentally rescinded his previous statement, Triton really did look awful.
The toxins had spread all the way up his dorsal fin and infected his spines and made the webbing between them look as brittle as paper, his lower neck scales, including the hardened bronze ones, looked like they were rotting and had peeled off onto the bed sheets along with patches of skin.
The demigod gulped, "They don't look too good."
Triton scoffed, "Is that all?"
"They're peeling." he collected a few bronze scales and slid them carefully into Triton's open palm.
He dragged his limb towards his face and observed the fallout.
"...So it seems." he noted with a worrying amount of detachment in his voice. "I suppose that's another thing to write down." With his better working hand, he jotted down his latest symptom; Tissue Decay.
Right then and there, Percy felt like a colossal douchebag for trying to downplay Triton's pain. He naively thought that if he convinced himself not to be affected by the incident, that the thick golden clouds of ichor in the water would be put out of his mind.
Now that he put his stupidity aside, Percy's ear and dorsal fins wilted in shame and he stared at the back of Triton's head, his long inky black hair had even lost some of its luscious luster. He could see him shivering and hear him panting shallow breaths with an occasional soft whimper slipping past his parted lips.
It was hard to remember that underneath all of Triton's usual splendor and over inflated ego, that he was just as capable of feeling the human emotions that the god's often denied having. He found that they were much more amplified in their intensity and the resulting aftermath was disastrous on both ends.
Making up his mind, he swam over to the medicine cabinet and grabbed another jar of anemone salve and sliced up some fresh sea kelp.
"Where else does it hurt?"
"Everywhere Perseus." Triton deadpanned.
"Um, anywhere specific?" he tried.
After a moment of thinking Triton cleared his throat, "The base of my dorsal fin is starting to feel tender."
Getting right to work, Percy carefully applied the salve with his fingers and lay freshly cooled kelp on top of it. While doing so, he started to hum a low tune under his breath.
He didn't know the exact mechanics or limits to his mysterious Sea Magic yet, but he thought that at least trying was better than doing nothing.
Triton stiffened, "Stop doing that."
"Doing what?"
"Don't play dumb, you know you can't interfere with the healing process anymore that the anemone salve is."
"You're in pain."
"It's for the good of Atlantis."
"You're not a science experiment!" shouted Percy.
Why did Triton have to be like this? He was just trying to right his wrong!
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt Triton place his good hand over his own, "All you're doing is making me feel your regret, it's numbing, but it's really depressing Percy."
Percy's words got caught in his throat, "I- Triton, I'm so sorry." and he meant it this time.
Triton continued to speak, "What happened was an accident and believe me you, I know you're sorry. So stop apologizing, I've already forgiven you."
A massive weight was lifted from the demigod's shoulders, he was scared that all the progress he'd made with Triton had been irreparably damaged and destroyed. After getting to know him, Percy found that he had so much more in common with him than he thought. Don't get him wrong, he loved his younger brother Tyson and they had great times together, but him and Triton, they basically operated on the same wavelength.
They listened to the same music, played pranks on Delphin, became childishly petulant when they got moody, had a massive sweet tooth, preferred to have their sauce served on the side, couldn't stand the sound of scallops chirping at the start of the day, tilted their heads to the right when confused, snort when they laugh for too long, they loved to gang up on their dad during debates, hades, they even had the same sneeze!
He'd gotten so used to his presence, and above all else, his companionship. He honestly didn't think he'd have stayed in Atlantis for as long as he's had if it wasn't for Triton, he'd have felt lonely and left ages ago.
He had great friends up on the surface, and they'd all been through tough times together, but it wouldn't feel right going up to one of them and asking them to hang out like normal friends did. None of them had that sort of connection with him, not even Grover. He'd always been a bit of a loner, his 'uniqueness' and reputation had kept others at arm's length, until recently. He found himself seeking out Triton daily, and he almost never turned him down.
Without realizing it, his brother, the broody, arrogant, headstrong immortal Crown Prince Triton had become his best friend.
He couldn't stand the thought of his older brother looking at him with hate in his eyes again.
Percy swam around to the other side of the bed to gauge his facial expression. It wasn't very easy since Triton had a deathlike pallor to his face, large bruises were under his eyes and his cheeks had sunken in appearance; gods, he looked terrible.
"You forgive me? Just like that?"
"Hn."
"Alrighty then...hey! Why did you have me keep apologizing?"
"I need to derive some form of amusement, seeing as I won't be leaving here any time soon. Allow me at least that much."
"I guess." Percy reluctantly agreed.
Triton smiled back at him and suddenly looked as though he'd just swallowed a lemon,
"You alright there?"
"Perseus," Triton gasped, "grab the bucket, be quick about it."
"Yeah sure thing Mr. Bossy, here's your- oh my gods nonono wait! Don't!- Eugehhh! It's all over my tails!"
"Get used to it." Triton's smile was vicious and slathered in barf, "My retribution is for you to stay with me until I'm all better."
Percy's healthy blue complexion became ashen.
•••Earlier•••
After dry heaving for the umpteenth time, Triton allowed a groan to slip past his lips and curled into a fetal position to try and alleviate the agony currently coursing through his body. He couldn't get comfortable, his tails kept twisting painfully around each other, they were starting to cramp up.
It was as though he was on fire yet freezing at the same time, his head felt like Hephestus had used his skull as his personal anvil, and oh gods he was gonna-
Blaaaarrgh!
Triton stared in horror at the mess he'd made and wondered why on earth his barf was blue.
"Lou, I missed the bucket!" he called out miserably.
The leopard seal dutifully came and cleaned the mess up, "Just focus on getting better, you're doing amazing."
Triton dry heaved and hacked a few more times before replying scathingly, "Sure I am."
"All things considered Lord Triton, you really are." Lou insisted.
Oh sure, he was absolutely peachy alright, as pristine as a pegasus.
Nah, who was he kidding? He felt like horse shit.
The medical staff, Lou, and he himself knew that if that barb had hit anyone but him or his parents, they'd be just as good as dead. There was no way anyone lesser could ever survive this.
A part of him was grateful that no one had died and that he'd taken the hit for his merfolk, but oH DAMN WHY IN HADES DID HE HAVE TO GET HIT?
No one but a god could withstand the toxins from Perseus' spines, sweet mother Rhea, a manticore's sting had nothing on this!
It was a good thing he was resistant...at least, he hoped that he was. Who knows, maybe Perseus' venom was potent enough to kill a god, he thought morosely. If not, then the victim would surely want to die, just to put an end to the pain.
"Prince Perseus has a really good arm." Lou commented while cleaning the floor, "I heard he threw it all the way from his private suite."
"His aim though, leaves much to be desired." scoffed Triton, "He's lucky that I was in my Regal form, otherwise the spine would have penetrated deeper into my dermis and deposited more toxins."
"I suppose so." agreed the leopard seal.
"Oh I know so." Triton huffed and had instant regret, it caused a wave of nausea to spear right through his body and aggravated his gag reflex. Luckily for him, Lou was ready with a bucket this time and all of his throwup landed into the receptacle.
"Ughhh, I think my liver came out with that one." Triton moaned.
"No liver, just some bile and the shrimp waffles you had for breakfast." confirmed Lou.
"That's disgusting." he shuddered.
"Pardon me," Lou padded over with a handkerchief and pat the mess off of Triton's mouth, "I know you were handled a lot today, so please bear with it for a moment more."
Triton was an individual who valued his personal space and didn't like being touched unnecessarily, so his earlier treatment with the medical staff was a whole other brand of torture. He was touched, poked, prodded, and manhandled leagues more than what he usually tolerated on a good day.
His immediate family was exempt, he didn't mind them in his personal space.
And of course, he had one other exception to give.
"I don't mind if you do it, Lou." he said to his loyal servant, "I trust you."
Lou's beady eyes glistened with emotion, "I'll do well to uphold that honor, your Highness."
It was quiet for a while after, the two enjoyed the relative calm until the doors not used by the healers opened.
"Halt!" cried Lou, springing into action and posing protectively in front of his master, "Cease your movement immediately and identify yourself!"
"Just as sharp as always Lou, my son did well choosing you."
"Lord Poseidon!" shrieked the leopard seal upon seeing the Sea King enter the rest of the way into the room, he immediately prostrated himself to the ground, "Please forgive me for my egregious behavior!"
Poseidon lifted his hand in a peaceful gesture, "Think nothing of it, you perform your duties to my son excellently."
"Raise your head Lou, you're forgiven." ordered Triton.
The leopard seal rose and resumed his earlier position by the bedside and lay his head next to Triton's to croon comfortingly into his earfins.
Poseidon smiled at the display and faced the wounded patient, "How do you fare my son?"
"With all due respect Father, I feel like I was Briareus' personal punching bag."
"You are strong Triton, it'll pass in no time." Poseidon assured his eldest son.
" I hope so-Hrk! Excuse me." burped Triton, "Where is Perseus?"
"He's back with Amphitrite cleaning up the basking grounds, you sure did a number on it." he smiled tightly, "You even went as far as to damage my favorite sun slab."
Triton gulped, "Father, I assure you I didn't do it on purpose."
"No no, don't worry about it, I know you had no control over your actions." assured the Sea King, "I came to discuss another matter."
"What is it?"
Poseidon's expression became solemn, "Since you were the affected party, I'll allow you to decide how Perseus will be punished."
Triton blinked and his intelligent reply was, "Huh?" offhandedly, he thinks that some of Percy's mannerisms were starting to rub off on him.
The Sea King gently held his son's chin in his hand to look him right in the eyes, "You know the Law Triton, better than even myself on most occasions. There is high punishment for attacking a member of the Royal Family."
"It was an accident."
"It does not matter, you would be punished just as severely if the roles were reversed."
Triton breathed heavily, ordinarily a penalty such as this would be effortless to enforce and normally, he would've jumped at the chance to sentence the guilty party; heck, he was famous for enacting ruthless punishments.
He remembered the look on Perseus' face right before Lou had knocked him out; he'd never seen his brother look so stricken, it had a different sort of pain course right through his sternum.
Triton swallowed heavily, "Right. We can send him to Hades or Zeus again."
Poseidon shook his head, "I'm afraid that won't do this time."
"Why not? That's what we did for you."
"That is what I decided on." he agreed, "However, the severity of this case far surpasses what happened previously."
"Yes but-
"My son." he said sternly, "We know what Perseus did was purely by accident, but it does not change the fact that Atlantis' Crown Prince was severely wounded. I cannot let this go lightly."
Atlantean Law was one of the most powerful legislations ever made, in regards to its justice system and judicial powers, it was second right underneath Athena's own judicatory building on Olympus. It was one of the things Triton was most proud about his home, and for the first time, he was torn emotionally because of it.
Triton liked to believe he was a merman of logic and reason, it's what allowed him to go on with his life without many regrets or remorse. He rarely let his personal feelings dictate what he did, he always did what benefited him the most.
But alas, Perseus came and threw the emotional wrench in his foundational gears.
If he went ahead and gave Perseus his due punishment, it would not only maintain the foundational balance his home was built upon, it would also serve as a reminder for the seafolk that no one is above the law.
But in return, Triton would feel like he'd be betraying a part of himself he locked away so long ago.
"Triton." Poseidon's baritone voice cut through his inner turmoil, "I need an answer from you."
No matter how he played it out in his head, he couldn't think of a scenario that didn't end up harming someone. Bottom line was, he didn't want to hurt his brother. He couldn't even try to convince himself otherwise anymore.
Triton mentally skimmed through all of their laws; there had to be something, anything that could spare his brother a punishment he didn't deserve.
Think, think, think!
As if to mock him, his own cruel laughter from the past echoed in his head along with a saying he was infamous for,
'Remove all obstacles before you, mercy is for the weak!'
Wait...mercy? That's it!
"What is your verdict?" Poseidon asked once again, "State it now."
Triton gathered his resolve and made it his strength; he channeled his divine authority, looked the Sea King right in the eyes, and proclaimed,
"I, Crown Prince Triton, am of sound mind and of sound body, do hereby exempt Prince Perseus Achilles from court punishment."
With that said, the water around them shimmered and with the realm's blessing, Perseus was officially free of any and all charges.
Poseidon's eyes widened in shock, "Did you just?" they could almost hear Lou's jaw drop to the ground.
"Yes," Triton wheezed, having overexerted himself, "I just gave out Atlantis' first official Royal Pardon."
Oh the irony, the humiliation! He'd ruthlessly scorned this very notion back in the old days, deemed it worthless, that no one in their right mind would be foolish enough to declare a Royal Pardon. To bestow such a thing would upset the delicate balance of powers that Atlantean Law sought to protect; threatened to undermine court sentences by rendering them null and void.
If there is no Balance, there is no Law. If there is no Law, there is no Order. Preposterous, he would never!
...
Well, call him a fool. Perseus had officially turned him into a sentimental sap.
Pathetic.
While his Father was busy laughing his head off, Lou tried to cheer him up by giving him little licks all over his quickly darkening face, "Is that satisfactory enough for you?" he pouted.
"Yes my son, it sure is." chortled Poseidon, "Wait till I tell Amphitrite about this."
"Father please. This wasn't an easy decision to make!"
"Ah what a day, that my anal retentive son, the Elder Prince, would willingly bend the law." he slapped a heavy palm on his forehead, "I never thought I'd get to see it!"
"...are you done mocking me?"
"Ahem! Yes, I'll go inform the courts right away; that is, if they haven't already sensed your decree."
Triton actually rolled his eyes, "You are most generous, oh great King of the Seas."
"In all seriousness," Poseidon continued, "I didn't even think of suggesting that. I believe even your Mother would agree that you made the right decision."
Triton exhaled heavily, "The less we speak of this, the better. I'm still trying to process what I've just done."
"Do you wish to take it back?" he questioned.
Triton blinked, looked up at his Father and answered without hesitation, "Never."
The Sea God's eyes crinkled in amusement, "Good."
"Now hold on a minute," the Prince added hastily, "just because I gave a Royal Pardon doesn't mean we're going to be handing out all willy nilly!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes it is so! We need to work even harder now to maintain balance!"
"Very well," Poseidon brought his hand down and heartily slapped his son's rear, "Rest up and recover soon!"
!
"Oops."
And for a second time that day, Atlanteans heard the pained cries of their Crown Prince.
•••
And Cut!
One day Percy will know why he wasn't punished.
This was so much fun to write, I wasn't kidding when I said that I'd indulge myself with this. Not gonna lie, Triton somehow became a comfort character of mine, so I hope you guys don't mind too much.
I'd planned from the start to have him and Percy become best friends!
Anywho, I'd like to thank tmntfanforever852, don't know if it was intentional, but their review turned out to be a great prompt!
See you next time! Hopefully it won't be too long from now!
~Loveandhugs from me! DF